Bjorn denies Woods fear factor as McIlroy seeks answers

A view looking back from the clubhouse down the 469 par 4, 18th hole (L) and the 404 yards par 4, 15th hole (R) on the Albatross Course at Le Golf National, the host venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup on October 14, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Thomas Bjorn insists Europe does not "fear" Tiger Woods or the USA as they bid to win back the Ryder Cup in Paris this week. 

While US skipperJim Furyk admitted that seeing Woods end his five-year drought by spectacularly capturing the Tour Championship and his 80th PGA Tour title was “a nice buzz for our team", Bjorn believes Europe's 12 can combat the Tiger effect.

Asked if Europe feared that Woods was worth an extra point the US bid, the Dane said: “We don’t fear anyone because we’ve played against them so many times before individually but we respect our opponents and know what we are up against.”

He added: "We do what we do as a European Team, and then we go out and take that on the golf course, and that's all 12 Americans. 

"It's not one individual. It’s the whole team that we are up against.”

Furyk believes that in contrast to past Ryder Cups, the new Tiger is much more of a team man given his close bond with the US young guns.

He said: "I think what's so special is Tiger has engrained himself in our team atmosphere and became such a big part of the team in 2016 as a vice-captain, and then again in 2017 as an assistant captain at the Presidents Cup.

"I think it's special for him now to kind of join these younger players as a teammate."

Bjorn needed Justin Rose or Rory McIlroy to make a final round statement in Atlanta by taking down Woods before the USA jetted out to Paris seeking its first away win for 25 years.

But the Englishman was forced to birdie the last to win clinch the FedEx Cup by the skin of his teeth with a closing 73 and McIlroy alarmingly went backwards in a final group for the sixth time this season, finishing tied seventh after a wayward 74.

The Co Down man was beaten by Li Haotong in the final group in the Dubai Desert Classic, Patrick Reed in the Masters, Francesco Molinari the BMW PGA and Justin Thomas in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational before allowing Keegan Bradley to emerge from the pack to win the BMW Championship in Philadelphia.

With Woods totally outplaying him on Sunday, he appears to be at a loss to explain what’s going wrong and admitted as much recently.

“I’m not sure what the problem is,” McIlroy said before the start at Arominink, where he shot 27 for nine holes in practice but had 32 putts in the final round, missing every chance bar an 11-inch effort in his first 11 holes.

"I don’t feel nervous. It isn’t as if I haven’t won out of the last group in the past. It isn’t as if I haven’t been under pressure in the past. It just seems it’s one thing or another.

“At Augusta, I didn’t feel very good warming up. Hit a terrible tee shot on No. 1, but got out of there with a par. 

"I birdied two, even with the missed eagle putt, made a bad bogey at three but then birdied four—which should have been huge. 

"But then I hit a really awful drive at the fifth and I remember thinking, ‘oh boy, that swing’s not very good.’ It didn’t go well after that."